Ecommerce can sometimes feel a bit like a rather gaudy carnival – lots of bright colors, blinking lights and endless rows of carnival barkers calling to you to come to their booth and try your luck. The endless list of available products is mind numbing. It can be rather daunting to come to terms with jumping into the fray of online business when it seems you will likely be just another carnival barker calling, “Step right up!”
I can understand your fears, but I also know that a good entrepreneur is more closely aligned with an actor than a traditional business owner.
An actor?
First of all, here’s what I do not mean by my previous comment. I do not mean that entrepreneurs are like actors in that they are not genuine and are simply playing a part.
Secondly, this is what I do mean by that comment. I do mean that entrepreneurs are like actors in that they both understand that their role is to sell an idea. A good actor can sell you on the idea that they ARE the character they play. A good entrepreneur takes their enthusiasm for a product, converts their enthusiasm to trust and then uses that trust to sell an idea.
The idea is not necessarily the product. The idea needs to be sold before the product becomes a viable consideration. Sometimes that means marketing to a need that may not be outwardly expressed. In essence an entrepreneur can help create a market for their product through the sheer force of their enthusiasm and determination. This dynamic duo translates to a trusting consumer base.
Your actions online are more than the cyber equivalent of selling deep friend cotton candy pickles on the midway. An entrepreneur helps the customer find something with positive takeaway value even in purchases that may seem frivolous. Help your site visitors discover the grand in the otherwise common. You can be a tour director and lead your site visitors on a trip that brings your prospect to a place of trust in YOU and your idea.
Too many people want to sell a product when they may be better off working to sell personal trust in a new idea. Instead of hawking wares they should be promoting the wonder of a new concept or idea.
I think there is a difference between an entrepreneur and a marketing expert. A marketing expert knows the tools required to sell a product while an entrepreneur possesses the passion needed to change the world in their own little way. Both are important in ecommerce, but the entrepreneur has something some marketing experts do not. They have been burdened with an idea for which passion is a prerequisite. Entrepreneurialism for these individuals is not a job it is a calling – it is more than 9-5 with paid vacation. Entrepreneurialism is something altogether unique.
A marketing expert understands the mechanics of selling – an entrepreneur guards the heart. Both are necessary, but only one can make the process undeniably human.